GreenVolts Jolts Concentrating PhotoVoltaic (CPV) Business Plans

Bob Cart is out as Chairman and CEO.Radical redesign may be underway departing from signature Power Unit and CarouSol.

GP Note: First, let me caution that my information for this post has been gleaned from confidential and anonymous sources. I’ve been investigating these claims for the past two weeks, and I am convinced I have the basic facts straight.

Two weeks ago Friday, Bob Cart was forced out as GreenVolts, Inc. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Chief Financial Officer Gary Beasley is now acting CEO as an executive search is conducted for a replacement. It appears this was a boardroom putsch orchestrated by venture capital investor, Oak Investment Partners.

I’ve had the feeling something was wrong at GreenVolts, Inc. due to the lack of progress at GV1 chronicled in my visits:

Although the poor macro economic environment and credit crunch were logical explanations, the layoff was also driven by a product vision divergence. In an incredible twist for a start-up company, I understand two competing design teams were formed to develop the company’s next generation CPV technology. One team, lead by Bob Cart, evolved and improved the GreenVolts Power Unit and CarouSol. The second team investigated clean sheet and perhaps me too CPV approaches as an alternative path. I suspect this second team was formed at the insistence of Board Director Brian Hinman, a Venture Partner with Oak Investment Partners.

The outcome of this competition is now clear. I have heard a staff rotation may be underway as new employees are hired, and GreenVolts veterans ponder their respective futures.